Engine-cooling indicator



March 23 1926.

c. s. DRAKE ENGINE COOLING INDICATOR 5 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. Fig.1

FIG 2 I to a??? I ATTOR EY QOFQ/MF V Mar ch 23 1926. V 1,578,]

c. s. DRAKE ENGINE COOLING INDICATOR Filed Sept. 5. 1920 Z'Sheets-Sheet 2 mun - w r i l l x WITNESSES Patented Mar. 23, I

1 UNITED STATES CLARKE sf DRAKE, or MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

ENGINE-COOLING INDICATOR.

' Application filed September To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARKE S. DRAKE, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Engine-Cooling Indicators, of whichthe following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification. j

The invention relates to a device forindicating the condition of the cooling "fluid of an internal combustion or other engine and by which the temperature, specific gravity and circulation of' said fluid may be observed.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an indicator for the cooling fluid system to admit of operation at a distance from the engine or motor so that it can be mounted on the dash or instrument board of automobiles, in the pilot house or cabin of a boat, in the engine room of an industrial plant or in the'cockpit of an aeroplane.

A further object of the invention is to provide certain improvements in the eonnection of the device with the cooling fluid circulating system over that shown in my prior Patent, No. 1,202,977, grant cl to me October 31, 19 16.

A further object of the invention is to provide an indicating device'for the cooling.

system in which the specific gravity of the cooling fluid at any temperature may be readily determined so that theoperator will know whether the fluid'in the cooling system in cold weather has the proper amount of freezing preventive in it. i The invention furtherconsists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is an elevation view of anengine and its. cooling system showing the indicator connected therewith; Fig. 2 is a front view of the indicator; Fig.

3is a side view of the indicator; Fig. 4 is a front, view of the indicator, parts being broken away and parts being shown in 'seotion; Fig. his a section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. L

In the drawings the numeral 6 designates the casing of'the indicating device having a circular chamber 7 provided with a recessed flange 8 in which a glass front 9 is a, 1920. Serial No. 407,960.

mounted between packing rings 10 and clamped to the flange 8 by a ring11 having threaded connection with said-flange. The

casing 6 'is provided with a removable top 12 having an opening 13 covered with a glass plate 14 and an incandescent lamp 15 is car- A padded cup 22 is mounted in the base and receives the lower end of a hydrometer or other instrument 23 for indicating specific gravity, the stem of which passes. loosely througha ring bracket 24 in thechamber 7.

A thermometer 25 is mounted in the easing, its lower end resting on 'a piece of soft material 26 with its stem passing through a collar 27 removably mounted in a ledge 28 in the casing. A plate 29 is also mounted in the casing having temperature graduations 30. The lower end of, the thermometer being disposed in the bottom of the casing some of the water in circulating through the casing comes in contact with the thermometer bulb. 1

A pipe 31 connects the interior of the casing with the cooling s stem and preferably with the suction en of the system as to apipe32 where a pump orother circu lating device 33 or suction producing means is employed to drawthe cooling fluid from the radiator 34 and force it into the water jackets of the engine from which it passes -1,7 issuesfrom' its upper end in'the form of a fountain and as the device is attached to. the instrument board, when used on a motor driven vehicle, the action of the coollng engine insures the hottest watercirculating through the device so that the thermometer in the casing will indicate substant1ally"the temperature of the cooling fluid.

In the taking of a specific gravity read-- ing it is desirable to hold a certain amount of the cooling fluid in the casing 6 so that the reading may be taken at a predetermined temperature. For this purpose I provide a branch pipe connection 36 extending from the upper part of the casing 6 to the pipe 31 and havin valve housing 37 between its ends provided with a push button valve 38 controlling an atmospheric vent 39. The pipe 36 connects with a valve cas1 ng 40 of the pipe 31. A plug valve 41 1s mounted in the casing 40 and'has an opening 42 therein to allow free passage-of fluid through the pipe 81, as shown in Fig. 41, or to establish communication between the pipe 36 and the pipe 31, a portion of the valve seat being cut out to form a passage 43 for this purose. P With the valve 41 in Fig. 4 the suction action of the circulating device will produce a flow of the cool ng liquid through the indicator, and its action may be observed by the .passage of the. cooling fluidfrom the fountain tube 17, as previously described. From -this action the operator may observe whether the fluid in thecooling system" is present in the proper quantity and is circulating. He may also at any time ob'servethe indication of the thermometer to see whether the engine is overheating or under heating.

When the two-way valve 41 is turned so' as to establish communication between pipes 36 and 31 the suction is diverted from the lower to the upper end of the casing 6 and in this Way the casing may be filled with coolin fluid and then the valve 41 maybe turns to closed position so that a portion of the circulating fluid will be trapped in the device. Thistrapped fluid may then be allowed to cool down until it reaches such a temperature as to give a direct reading or" the scale on the instrument 23. 'VVhenit is desired to exhaust the fluid from the device it is only necessary to open valve 41 and press in the valve 38, thereby opening the vent 39 to the atmosphere and by admitting air the suction on .the pipe entering the device is lessened and the fluid will run out faster than it can-enterjthe device, or if the valve 21 is closed and the vent opened thefluid in the device will be sucked out rapidly. This arrangement enables the operator to vary at will the amount of fluid taken into or drawn out of the device so that the fluid may be maintained in the dein the position shown vice at any desiredheight in order that" specific gravity indications at a predetermined temperature maybe readily taken without having to makeallowances for va-- .rlation in temperature 1n computing the correct reading of specific gravity.

. If the specific gravity of the cooling fluid is known and the ingredients of the same are also known, itis possible to determine the freezing or boiling point ofthe fluid or any other data which may be determined frOm the' specific gravity. In this way the operator may know whether he has the proper proportion of freezing preventive in the cooling fluid in times of cold weather. From 'the ioregoing description it will be noted that the device enables the operator I cooling system fallsbelow the point of attachment to said cooling system of pipe 18.

The device enables the operator to determine the temperature of the cooling fluid and by auxiliary devices the temperature of the cooling fluid within the water jackets may be kept ll; that point at which the mo tor operates at greatest efiiciency.

WVhenit is necessaryto use freezing preventives in the cooling fluid it is desirable to know the quantity of preventive in the cooling fluid and its freezing'point. This information may be readily obtained by using the instrument to indicate the specific gravity of the coo-ling fluid.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not limited to any specific form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

That I claim as my invention is:

1. In an indicator device, the combination, of a casing in communication with the cooling system of an engineand having a transparent wall, a thermometer in said casing to indicate the temperature of the flui'd in said system; an instrument in said casing to indicate the specific gravity of said cooling fluid, and means in said casing providingv a visible indication of the flow of the cooling 'fluid.

- and means establishing communication between said casing and the cooling liquid leavin the water jacket of the engine.

3'. T e combination, with the cooling system of an internal combustion engine including a circulating device, of a casing at'a distance from the engine and in a position to be readily observed by the operator, an outlet connection between this casing and the suction side of said device, and an inlet connection between said casing and the cooling liquid leaving the water jacket of the engine, said inlet connection including a fountain tube and said casing having'a window therein adjacent said-tube.

4. In an indicator device of t' e character described, the combination with a casing in communication with the cooling system of an engine, of'a thermometer and an instrument for indicating specific gravity disposed in said casing, and means for trapping a portion of the fluid from the-cooling system in said casing toobtain a specific gravity indicationat a predetermined temperature,

5.In an indicator device of the character described,'the combination,-with a cooling system of the engine, of a casing incommunication with said system and having a transparent wall, means in said casing providing a visible indication of the flow of the cooling fluid, athermometer and an instrument for indicating specific gravity disposed in said casing, and means for-trap-' ping aportion of the fluid from the cooling system 1n "said casing to obtain a specific gravity indication at a predetermined temperature.

6. In an indicator device of the character described, the combination of a casing having communication with the cooling system of thesuctio-n. j v s It 8.1n a cooling system for an internal com-' prising a chamber having a transparent -wall, means for producing suction in said chamber, and means for supplying an indicating stream .of water from said I wateracket to said chamber under the influence bustion engine having a water jacket,"the' combination of a means for indicating the presence of a normal supply of water in said system comprising a chamber having a transparent Wall, means for producing suction in said chamber, means for supplying an indicating stream of water from said water jacket to said chamber under the influence of suction, and means for indicating the temperature of the water in chamber.

9. The combination with the cooling sys tem including the jacket space of the enine a chamber means for creatin suction in said chamber, means for supplying cooling water leaving the jacket space of the engine to said chamber responsive to suction, said chamber discharging into the cooling system, and means for. indicating the tem .perature ofthe water in said chamber.

Intestimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

CLARKE S. DRAKE, 

